Once Upon An Artist's View
by IV Red
Summary: Demyx visited her when he could, but it always did baffle him how Naminé managed to get two or three steps ahead of him, sometimes seeming to know more about Demyx than he did himself. And then there was that picture... XigDem


**'Ello kiddies, ladies and dudes. Told ya I'd be writing more XigDem. SLIGHTLY AU, as it tweaks a couple of game facts, maybe.  
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**I was planning to start posting one-shots only after I was done with my other story, Unparadoxical. But I figured I'd finish this while that one catches reviews, heh.  
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**Using a third party member, so to say, to egg on the actual pairing here. I kinda like how this one-shot turned out, but it'd be the best if y'all could point out mistakes and give me a few honest opinions.**

**Poll in my profile, first attempt at decent fanart in my DevArt... yeah, that covers it all.**

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**Once Upon An Artist's View**

One-Shot Unique Chapter

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Naminé had always been a quiet girl, intelligent and greatly observant; a true imaginative. For, as in the words of Poe, the ingenious one remains inclined to fantasy, while the true imaginative never ceases to be analytical.

This often caught Demyx off-guard in the several times he visited her, attempting to cheer up the girl, although he didn't quite comprehend much of her role in everything. He knew, though, that she was sad because someone would forget her soon.

"Why would they?" He questioned that day.

"Because he must," she answered matter-of-factly. "And I must be the one to help him forget."

This confused the young musician even more. "Sora?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Naminé paused, her gaze drifting to her feet.

"So he can remember the truth."

Demyx never asked again.

Instead, he visited every now and then, when time was abundant and he was free of missions or the many duties of a Nobody in Castle Oblivion. She would show him her drawings, sometimes offering paper and pen to the other blonde, but he always refused, claiming music was his only art. And he'd sometimes play while he told her how it is to live with the others, how they weren't as bad as they seemed – some, at least. He liked talking about the good times, the funny incidents, his little rays of light that might as well show the other artist the good in Nobodies.

And she would always observe, always observe. She would listen, interested, and smile from time to time.

But oh she was observant, and it often baffled Demyx.

"So you're all friends?"

"Well, not quite, not all of us. Zexy can get really grumpy, so I can't talk to him for long, which is weird because he does talk a lot, usually. Xemnas and Saïx are kinda scary, and so is Xaldin. Larxene and Marluxia aren't so nice to me, so I guess they don't like me. Lux is okay, but we don't really hang out because well, he says I should learn to play adult games first, and he confuses me a lot. Lex is nice, but he doesn't talk much. Same with Axel, but that's because he spends most of his time with Roxas, and a lot of the time I think they don't want me around when they're together," he paused, fingers under his chin as he counted and checked if he'd missed anyone. "Xiggy is really nice to me though, even if he likes scaring me sometimes, he's my best buddy."

"Xiggy?" Naminé repeated, giggling at the nickname for such a high-ranking member of the Organization.

"Um, Xigbar," Demyx corrected himself. "He lets me call him Xiggy, sometimes."

"He's Number Two, right?"

"Yep, the one with the eyepatch, he's a bit taller than me."

"Eyepatch?" The girl echoed, cocking her head to the side slightly; the Nobodies rarely cared to pull back their hoods in her presence. "I don't think I've seen his face," she explained.

Demyx's expression changed to a thoughtful one as he struggled with proper words to describe his friend. "Well, yeah, he's got an eyepatch, and this really big scar on his cheek. At first I thought it was kinda scary, but now I think it looks pretty cool. His good eye scared me the most, it's all yellow and like a cat's, but he's actually way nicer than he looks. He's a really upbeat guy. I still don't get so used to the scars though; he's got them all over."

Her expression became even more curious as he finished, and she caught a glimpse of pink on his cheeks as he waved his hands in front of himself and said, "I just saw once, 'cause he woke up late and I went to his room to get him for breakfast."

Naminé thought Xigbar intimidating, even somewhat contradicting to his graceful movements and even sort of jovial attitude; perhaps, she wondered, that was why Demyx got along with him. He was the only somewhat light-hearted Nobody she knew besides the older blonde himself, but he'd never spoken to her directly. Besides, she knew it did take someone like he described to keep Demyx busy and entertained for a day.

And from his expression, his gestures and her observing, maybe Demyx thought him charming.

She saw no oddity in this. The concepts and rules of romance weren't very present to her, and she believed that if a man really liked another, there was no reason for it to be a bad thing. Indeed, she was quite glad for Demyx and his friendship with the Organization's second in command.

The next times Demyx visited her, she made him stand very still for long periods of time, as she drew the outlines of his face. He had trouble staying like that, unmoving besides his fidgeting hands, but he tried anyway. "I need to practice," she explained. "And I think it'll be easier this way."

A week passed before she showed him her sketchbook again. On the last used page was a sketch of a man, from the waist up, and he could see the outlines of his own face and body that Naminé had modified slightly to look somewhat thinner, but longer. The deep red-brown mark from the man's jaw to under his eye and the black imperfect circle over his eye made his identity obvious.

How she captured the characteristically sharp-toothed grin without having ever seen Xigbar's face would always escape Demyx's comprehension.

Then again, there were a lot of things about Naminé that he didn't understand; like how she'd manage to get two or three steps ahead of him, sometimes seeming to know more about IX than he did himself.

And she did seem to have that knowing glint in her eye as she asked, "Is this what Xigbar looks like?"

Demyx nodded energetically, smiling widely. "Yeah, he looks just like this! Can I keep it?"

Naminé pondered this, looking intently at the musician's face.

"C'mon, Xiggy would love to see it," he insisted.

"Okay," she responded, continuing after Demyx gave an amiable smile, but before he ripped off the page. "But let me finish it, and then you can take it. Alright?"

"Alright," he agreed easily, handing the sketchbook back to her.

"It might take me a while," Naminé added. "And… is there any chance I could meet your friend first?"

Demyx did not attribute this to details in her drawing, but to the girl's own interest in meeting Xigbar. He thought the sniper wouldn't mind coming along whenever he had time, and so, Demyx accepted.

A week passed, again, in which Demyx made sure to mention to Xigbar the great portrait Naminé had drawn, besides asking him to come as well in his next visit. At this, the Freeshooter only showed mild interest, agreeing to accompany the Nocturne. Soon enough Demyx was able to visit Naminé once again, containing his excitement as he led Xigbar.

Her first reaction had been utterly stranded and curious, then gradually comfortable as Demyx introduced them and chatted on.

Most of the time, she observed. Xigbar wasn't one to become shy in front of anyone, acquaintance or not, and so his behaviour showed the same way as always. Naminé observed as both males laughed and interacted normally, making her laugh wholeheartedly several times at Xigbar's gestures and Demyx's responses. Always such a true imaginative, she finished her art piece that very afternoon, as soon as the two Nobodies retreated the way they came from.

Only two days passed before Demyx returned, alone this time.

As soon as he stepped in, he explained his friend had not been able to come because of a quick mission, but the words fell on empty air. He glanced around, uselessly calling out to Naminé, until he concluded he should wait for her; in the meantime, he preoccupied himself by going through the different pictures hung up on her wall, all drawn by the girl herself. Old and new, some confusing, some quite well-done; her progress was obvious, and the amount of pages covered the walls in such a way that the recent ones had to be tacked a little over the older ones.

Next to the chair she usually sat to draw in seemed to be the most recent one. From his position near the door he could recognize the combination of colours and approached it, noticing the changes.

The picture of a grinning Xigbar was complete, with the only change being his golden eye – instead of in a passive position, it was focused to the left, where Naminé had drawn Demyx, smiling in his usual amiable way and meeting Drawn-Xigbar's gaze. Demyx raised his eyebrows; Drawn-Demyx's cheeks where slightly tinted pink, in the same way Real-Demyx begun to blush now.

"Do you like it?"

At Naminé's animated voice, Demyx jumped and turned quickly, caught off guard. "Um, I…"

"You can keep it now," she said, smiling, with that one knowing look on her face.

Unsure of what to assume, Demyx turned and took the sheet of paper, noticing now that that it was actually folded.

He glanced at Naminé, flustered and fidgety, before unfolding the paper.

The first thing he noticed was that the second half was simply a continuation of the first. The upper part of the paper had space for only the upper body of Drawn-Xigbar and Drawn-Demyx, while the lower part contained the rest of their bodies, down to their feet. The second thing he noticed was that their hands were visible in the lower half.

The third thing he noticed was that looking at it this way, he could see clearly that Drawn-Demyx and Drawn-Xigbar were holding hands, and the smiles they directed at each other had a far firmer and blunter context now.

"Xigbar would love to see it," Naminé added.

As far as Demyx could think at the moment, her sweet smile was charged full of something between mischief and innocent malice.

She was sure she saw all the shades of pink that covered his face as he held the drawing and rushed out, looking at his feet in embarrassment. Oh well; he'd thank her later.


End file.
